Health officials concerned a future doctor shortage will hit Minnesotas rural communities hardest [Video]

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. (CBS Minnesota) — There is real concern among health officials there won’t be nearly enough doctors in the future, let alone for rural Minnesota in the near term.

Dr. Edwin Bogonko, the President of the Minnesota Medical Association, estimates 30% of the state’s physician workforce will either retire or change careers.

“One has to be worried because we’re facing an unprecedented workforce shortage,” Bokongo lamented to WCCO Investigates. “It’s just a reality.”

The projected shortage, moreover, is exacerbated by the population’s health care needs, which Bokongo said is an additional 1,200 primary care doctors by 2040, a 28% increase of the working ranks now.

“We’re behind the eight ball,” he said.

Workforce issues felt most in family medicine

Dr. Robert Karasov was a pediatrician at Park Nicolet for nearly 40 years. He retired in 2023, even though he said he had a few years in him left.

“The last several years I’d keep saying to them, ‘You’ll let me know …